Kobach touts success of Kansas photo ID law

Topeka  Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says fewer than expected registered voters cast provisional ballots in the Nov. 6 general election in response to the new state photo identification law.

The law requires voters to show a valid photo identification in order to receive a ballot and cast their vote. This was the first general election to require such proof of identity since the law was enacted in 2011.

Kobach said Tuesday that only 717 provisional ballots were cast because of photo ID issues — 0.06 percent of the more than 1.15 million votes cast.

"And that's an even smaller percentage than in the primary," Kobach said.

The Republican said voters are becoming more familiar with the law and its requirements, and the relatively few problems with photo identification are evidence of that.

"I think the photo ID requirements are going very smoothly, in fact smother than I expected," Kobach said.

Earlier this month, voters were asked to cast their preference for president, four U.S. House seats, 125 Kansas House seats, 40 Kansas Senate seats and numerous county-elected positions, from sheriffs to clerks to commissioners. This was the first time since 2000 that Kansas didn't have a U.S. Senate seat or statewide elected office on the ballot, tempering voter turnout.

Kobach said all of the races have been decided and there were no recounts requested for the congressional or legislative seats. The results of the general election are scheduled to be certified by the state canvassing board on Nov. 29. The board consists of Kobach and fellow Republicans Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Kansas will hold elections for governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and insurance commissioner in 2014, along with the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Pat Roberts, who is expected to seek re-election. All 125 Kansas House seats will also be on the ballot.

Kobach successfully pushed through the new photo ID law, along with changes in the voter registration laws that require proof of citizenship to register for the first time in Kansas starting Jan. 1.

Though he said he would be seeking a few changes to the voting laws, Kobach said the bigger issue that needs to be addressed was the counties where there are more registered voters than eligible voting-age population.

KS, why don't you just quit pretending about what the voter id laws are all about. Kobach knows what bozo posted is exactly why he has inflicted the law on the people of kansas. You have to resort to personal insults because your are gullible and buy the propaganda (lies) that the republicans have no problem spreading. The me me me party is entitled to lying because it is for their greater cause and that makes it justifiable.

If it can be undone. It'll take two or three new administrations to reverse some of Brownback's moronic decisions so probably eight to ten years just to get back to where we were before he became Governor.

This idiot, Kobach, sat in for Gregg Knapp this morning on the KCMO 710 Morning Show. Let's just say I couldn't believe it was happening. The unfiltered partisan B.S. spewed without end and the stupidity was boundless. I believe all of the incoming callers were personal friends of his. I kept thinking at every commercial break that the radio station would cut him off and play a Michael Savage rerun instead, but it just kept going on and on.... Wow! This is an elected official AND an officer of the court? Kansas must do better! Wake up you morans!

Yeah, I eventually did just that...But I hung out way too long from the get go...a strange fascination took over....like rubbernecking a car crash on the highway...I kept thinking it would get better...couldn't get any worse...I was wrong...spent the rest of the morning writing a letter to the station scolding their lack of good judgement.

Maybe the reason for the turnout was no fraud by Democrats. Maybe the reson for the turnout was Democrats don't have photo IDs? Why wouldn't anyone have a photo ID? There are other reasons for photo IDs you know. I've been asked for my photo ID for years I guess I should've refused to vote that would show em'. If these comments were not so stupid they would be funny

I used to live in Kansas, but no longer do. I still have business interests there, as well as friends. If you don't like it, feel free to purchase the LJWorld and then create your own rules on who can and who cannot leave comments.

Since Kansas and the Herr's Kobach, Brownback and the Koch-a-Kolas can't live with voter equality and access, let Washington bring on just what they don't want a Federal Election Law. Cut out this bigoted voter suppression crap and make all Federal elections a Civil Right with provisions to standardize the regulations in all States. Florida and Ohio may really want to secede if this happens.

After the election a UN observers stated they were shocked that voters in most states didn't haveto show an I D to vote. Clearly they understand that with out ID there will be fraud. But eith er way get an ID.. try taking back a Christmas gift this year to major retailers. They will want your Driver license so that they know you only returned something once.

How the heck does someone return something more than once? You take the item to the store, present your receipt and the item to the Customer Service representative for inspection; perhaps answer a question or two about the reason for the return and get your refund or store credit. Clerk takes the item, places it in a bin or on a shelf and the transaction ends.

It would only be a success if he could legitimately claim he'd prevented bunches of in-person voter fraud. Since such cases are super rare and easy enough to catch even without photo ID, he can't make that argument. All he can say is that only 700 people were potentially disenfranchised from their legal and legitimate right to vote. Since at least one Kansas election was decided by a margin that was smaller than the number of provisional ballots cast over ID issues, he can only claim success for gumming up the works - which is exactly what he set out to do with this law. What a jerk.

After the election a UN observers stated they were shocked that voters in most states didn't have to show an I D to vote. Clearly they understand that with out ID there will be fraud. But either way get an ID.. try taking back a Christmas gift this year to major retailers. They will want your Driver license so that they know you only returned something once. There isn't a person posting here who doesn't have an ID.

Great question! I asked that myself when I voted by mail-in ballot in the privacy of my home. Didn't have to make a photocopy of my driver's license and send it in with the ballot — not that that would have proved anything. Maybe closing that loophole will be next on Kaiser Kobach's agenda.

Dec. 6th is past the voting date, but thanks for trivializing the issue. Now tell it to the WWII vet whose license expired three months back and now can't vote. Unlike the old USSR, this is America and we aren't required to always have our papers ready for the asking.

I was making the point that despite the fact that we have a Constitutional right to vote, the voter does have at least some level of responsibility. Exactly what that level is, our elected legislators may determine and our courts should interpret.

One of the complaints was that those older folks would face some sort of significant burden, and so they allowed them to use an expired DL - maybe they had stopped driving, and would find it difficult to get a new one, and didn't need one.

They also let students use student ID's, and a number of other kinds were acceptable.

Personally, I think that the variety of ID's considered acceptable mitigate some of the problems with voter ID laws, and I was surprised to see them offer so many options.

You've pointed out a serious problem, though, with mail-in ballots, which have little in the way of ID checks.

Doesn't jerk Kobach realize how many didn't seek to vote because they didn't have a photo ID and felt they hadn't the means to get one. I'm talking about the poor without transportation and the elderly. He should be found guilty of another crime for disenfranchising these people.

Need to address the "counties where there are more registered voters than eligible voting-age population". What counties and why is that? Did more people vote in those counties than the popluation? Is that like a Republican county chair in Maine that stated some African- Americans showed at the polls and voted, (for Obama??) when noone had ever seen them around until that day? Have any facts to back that or is this another "voter fraud" issue?

So I want to know, does the law REQUIRE that the poll persons called my NAME ALOUD when i gave them my ID and when i turned in my ballot, my ballot number was CALLED ALOUD for the intake table to hear and RECORD on their paperwork? That seemed very strange to me as a voter, and seems to prevent my vote from being anonymous. I left the poll extremely angry. Not only did the poll invade my privacy by requiring my ID but also my sense of self and privacy to all the other voters there, calling my name out like that, and they did it for EVERY SINGLE PERSON. WTF?

The voter id law worked wonderfully. No voter fraud before and no voter fraud after the law. Only price is the people who didn't vote because of the obstructions it caused them and all the money the state wasted on the law.